Ken Berger

Allen Iverson has left the Memphis Grizzlies amid conflicting reports about whether it is for personal reasons or unhappiness with his role.

The accelerated news cycle demands immediate reaction, opinion, and conclusions. Sometimes these conclusions are drawn when athletes' personal lives are involved. Sometimes, those conclusions are dead wrong.

We don't know if anything serious is wrong in Iverson's life, other than the fact that he's not starting for the Grizzlies and has made his opinion about that abundantly clear. (Hint: He feels the same way about coming off the bench in Memphis as he did in Detroit.) We do know that, given Iverson's history, his incessant griping about coming off the bench, and his vow last season that he'd retire before doing that again, there's ample evidence for you to assume the worst.

Either way, Iverson flew to his home in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon, hours before the Grizzlies were scheduled to play the Clippers in Los Angeles. This came after meeting with team owner Michael Heisley on Friday night and again Saturday morning, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reported. The team described his return as "undetermined." That's an ominous word, but this has been an ominous and awkward union from the beginning.

It was never a good idea for the Grizzlies, who are 1-5 to no one's surprise and going nowhere, to hook up with Iverson at this point in his career. The warning signs were there in Detroit last season, even though Iverson was by no means the only one in the wrong there. I still believe Iverson could've helped a serious title contender if he was able to swallow his pride and accept a sixth-man role. He does not want to accept such a role, even if it meant getting the championship that has eluded him during an otherwise brilliant career. Why would anyone think he'd accept that role in Memphis, where the Grizzlies aren't even the best basketball team in their own city?

The point is, even if Iverson's excused absence from the Grizzlies is for a legitimate reason, how is anything going to change when he returns? It's not. You knew this wasn't going to end well, and now it appears to have careened into a ditch only six games into the season. Hate to say it, but both sides should've seen it coming.